Gun sight



(3?; 2 s 386 QQZO Oct. 9, 1945.

W. J. A. BAILEY ET AL GUN SIGHT Filed June 1', 1944 Y Q T a 6 M Hwy Wmw. uLUlVll'. l mom. mol uUlvltN l S.

Patented Oct. 9, 1945 GUN SIGHT William J. A. Bailey, Packanack Lake, N.J and Charles E. Whiteman, Richmond Hill, N. Y., assignors toInternational Business Machines Corporation, New York, N. Y., acorporation of New York Application June 1, 1944, Serial No. 538,216

1 Claim.

The present invention relates to gun sights and, more particularly, to adetachable front gun sight designed specifically for use as acounterpart to the existing front gun sight currently installed on, andcomprising a permanent and integral part of the weapon employed by theUnited States Army and oflicially designated as U. S. Rifle Cal. .30,M1, but generally known as the Garand rifle. The invention, however, issusceptible to modification and the principles of the same areapplicable to many types of firearms, such as, for example, antiaircraftguns, field artillery and the like.

It is well known that in rifle fire in order to hit a moving object itis necessary when only a single front sight is employed on the riflethat the rifieman make an estimation of the speed at which the object ismoving, as well as of the distance the object is from the rifieman andthen aim a predetermined distance ahead of the moving object, 1. e. inthe direction in which the object is moving. Furthermore, in so leadingthe target the rifieman is obliged to maintain his rifle in motion inorder that he may during the aiming process continue to lead the target.Such a method is purely guess work, inasmuch as the rifieman does notkeep his eye on the target. By such a method, the rifieman not only isaiming at an undefined point but he also is continually changing his aimindiscriminately and he frequently loses sight of the moving object,which may, unknown to him, change its course or speed, or both.Additionally, the region at which the rifieman is aiming is frequentlyan indefinite one, as for example, snow, water or sky, and in changingfrom one to the other the target is often lost sight of. Such a trialand error process required for the rifieman to attain such proficiencymust necessarily be conducted over along period of. time and this iscostly, both from the standpoint of ammunition wasted and of preliminarytraining with the use of mechanically propelled targets.

Various attempts to remedy this limitation in the use of rifles havebeen made by the designing of the so-called multiple gun sights whereinthere is provided a sight base attachable to the gun barrel near thefront end thereof and including a transverse member having formedthereon a plurality of sight elements, adjacent elements being spacedapart a predetermined distance. The rifieman, utilizing his eye innormal shooting position relative to the rear gun sight, forms with hiseye and with the sight line passing through the rear sight element ofthe rifle and with a selected sight element of the multiple front sight,a predetermined angle which, if extended a predetermined distance, willintercept an object of predetermined length. He is thus enabled to leadthe object the proper amount, while at the same time maintaining hisline of vision with the object.

Where ordinary single sight rifles are concerned, the rifieman is taughtduring his training period to lead the object a predetermined amount,depending upon the speed of the moving object and upon the distance ofthe object from th rifieman, utilizing as a yardstick for hiscalculations one or more target-lengths. By the use of the improvedmultiple sight attachment the rifieman need no longer concern himselfwith target-lengths as he is only required to make his estimation in theusual manner and select the proper right or left hand sight, which whenselected is brought into accurate alignment with the object.

The invention relates specifically to multiple front gun sights of thistype and is designed as an improvement over existing sights in that meanare provided whereby the sight may more conveniently be applied to andremoved from the muzzle end of a rifle, particularly where the socalledGarand rifle is concerned and in that, when so installed on the rifle,it possesses a degree of utility and numerous advantages heretoforeunattained in connection with mutiple sights for rifles.

Heretofore, many multiple front gun sights which are attachable to andremovable from the muzzle end of a rifle have not been secure whenapplied to the muzzle end of the rifle in that they are maintained intheir transverse position by means of relatively light spring clips. Asa consequence, they have not been acceptable for conditions of actualcombat. It is accordingly an object of the present invention to providea precision built, multiple front gun sight which is extremely ruggedand durable and which when installed in position makes relatively wideface-toface frictional contact with certain surface areas of the frontportion of the rifle to which it is applied in order that there shall beno accidental shifting of the sight relative to the rifle. A similarobject of the invention is to provide a multiple front rifle sight whichis further safeguarded against shifting relative to the rifle on whichit is mounted by the provision of a lower frictional surface contactwith the gas cylinder lock strap portion of the rifle and of an upperfrictional surface contact with the outer side walls of the conventionalgun sight unit.

Previously designed multiple front gun sights possess an addedlimitation in actual use in that because of the large number ofuniformly designed and uniformly spaced sight elements employed, therifleman, for lack of a ready reference point, has difficulty inselecting the proper sighting element and is obliged to make an actualcount of the various sight elements from one end of the series thereofin either direction until he encounters the proper sight element foruse. Another object of the invention is to overcome this limitation inthe use of multiple gun sights and, toward this end, contemplates theprovision of a rifle sight of this character employing multiple sightelements on both sides of the guard elements of a Garand rifle which areso arranged that the riflemanmay utilize the guard elements as a readyreference point for determination of the proper sight element to beutilized in aiming. A similar object of the invention is to provide a,multiple front gun sight having means associated therewith in the formof indicia suitably marked upon the sighting element which will serve toidentify the various multiple sights employed in order that selection ofthe proper sight may readily be made for aiming purposes.

Another object of the invention is to provide a multiple front gun sightfor use in connection with Garand type rifles and which has a pluralityof sight elements closely simulating the conventional single sightelement employed on such rifles and which, like this latter element,possess depth and in which the various sight elements are individuallyslightly angularly disposed relative to the normal sight line of therifle to compensate for their relative displacements laterally from thenormal sight line. By such an arrangement, regardless of which sightelement is selected for aiming purposes, the effective width of thesight element in sighting will be no greater than the thickness of themetal employed in constructing the individual sight elements.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a detachable riflesighting assembly which is held in position on the rifle by means of asnap-on action utilizing a pair of spring clips that form an inherentpart of the detachable sighting assembly.

The provision of a sight element of the character set forth above whichis extremely simple in its design and which may be manufactured at arelatively low cost, one which readily lends itself to standardization,and one which is rugged and durable and which is otherwise well adaptedto perform the services required of it under adverse conditions ofwarfare, are further desirable features that have been borne in mind inthe production and development of the invention.

Other objects and advantages of the invention not at this timeenumerated will become apparem as the following description ensues.

In the accompanying single sheet of drawings, one embodiment of theinvention is illustrated. In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of the improved gun sight.

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the improved gun sight.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the sight applied to the muzzle end of arifle.

Fig, 4 is a top plan view of the gun sight.

, In all of the above described views like characters of reference areemployed to designate like parts throughout.

Referring now to the drawing in detail, and particularly to Fig. 3, theimproved sighting attachment is shown as being applied to the front ormuzzle end of a conventional rifle of the Garand type. Such a rifleincludes a cylindrical barrel portion II], a lower gas cylinder l2, anda gas cylinder lock in the form of a strap I4 connecting the barrel Illand cylinder l2 and closely fitting about these members. The rifle isprovided with a front sight assembly l6 of conventional design andincluding a substantially cube-shaped block-like body portion I8 fromwhich there extends upwardly at opposite sides thereof a pair of curvedoutwardly flared sight guards 20 and between which guards there isdisposed an upstanding sight element proper 22. The sighting assembly I6is split transversely as at 24 and the underneath surface thereof isrecessed to provide a dove-tailed slot 26, the side edges of which areadapted to be clamped against the edges of a cooperating strap 28, whichsurrounds the gun barrel l0 and gas cylinder l2. A locking screw 30projects into the block-like member l8 and is threadedly received inthis member and serves to draw the split portions of the member togetherto clamp the sighting assembly firmly in position above the barrel Ill.The above described arrangement of parts is purely conventional in itsdesign and no claim is made herein to any novelty associated with thesame, the novelty of this application residing rather in theconstruction and arrangement of the sighting attachment now to be morefully described.

The sighting attachment is designated in its entirety at 32 and ispreferably in the form of .a sheet metal stamping of irregular contourand includes a horizontal ledge or table portion 34, from which theredepends at the forward edge thereof a vertical flange 36 of generallytapering form and. having a central rounded slot opening 38 formed inthe lower region thereof and designed for reception therethrough of theupper curved portion or lobe of the gas cylinder locking strap Hi. Whenthe sighting attachment I6 is installed on the rifle, as shown in Fig.3, in its final position, the rear face of the flange surrounding theslot 38 bears against the front face of the block portion H! of thesight IS.

The ledge portion 34 of the attachment 32 is divided into right and leftsections by means of a rectilinear slot 39, see Fig. 4, formed in themetal of the device. The sides of the slot 39 are provided with a pairof downwardly extending vertical flanges 40, the lower edges of whichterminate a slight distance above the upper extremity of the slot 38formed in the flange 36. When the sighting attachment is installed onthe rifle, the two side sections of the tablerportion 34 are adapted tostraddle the block portion [8 of the rifle sight I6 with'the flanges 40fitting snugly against outer side surfaces [9 "thereof. Because ofthefact that the inner edge of the curved slot 38, the rear face of thedepending flange 36 and the-inner side surfaces of the pair of flanges40,- engage the muzzle end of the rifle in areas or regions which arerelatively widely separated from each other, the attachment 22 isextremely stable in its mounting onthe rifle and is not-subject todisplacement under conditions of reasonably hard usage.

A plurality of sighting elements 42 project upwardly from the uppersurface of each of .the

side sections of the table portion 34,such sight-,

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Search Ream ing elements being shown as associated with each element forconvenience of illustration. The opposite edges of the table portion 34are turned upwardly as at 42 to provide an additional sighting elementfor each side portion, thus making five sighting elements in all on eachside portion. While the sighting elements 42 may be integrally formedwith the member 32, these elements are preferably formed separately andare in the form of fiat sheet metal stampings havingcurved uppersurfaces and tapering slightly rearwardly so as to take on the genera1appearance of the conventional sighting element 22 of the sight assemblyl8, as shown in Fig. 3. Each of the members 42 is securely attached tothe table portion '34. The end members 42' which are integrally formedwith the table portion 34 and which constitute upwardly extendingflanges thereon are similarly shaped.

Reference to Fig. 4 will show that the various sighting elements 42 and42' occupy angular positions with respect to each other and each ofthese spaced elements is in true accurate alignment with the rear peephole sight, not shown, of the rifle. In other words, the extendedlongitudinal center line of each of the spaced elements 42 and 42'passes through the center of the peep hole sight of the rifle and thusthese members lie upon radial lines diverging from a common centerlocated at the rear rifle sight position. By such an arrangement, themarksman or rifleman, upon selecting any one of the sighting elements 42or 42' for aiming purposes, will be assured that his line of visionpasses over the selected sight element in true alignment therewith sothat the efiective sighting width of the element appears to be to him nowider than the thickness of the metal from which the sighting element isconstructed, a condition which would not obtain were the variouselements arranged in true parallelism.

It is to be noted that even though the rifleman has at his disposal, inthe present instance, no less than eleven sighting elements, any one ofwhich he may select for aiming purposes, he is unlikely to becomeconfused in his selection of the proper sighting element for theparticular conditions under which he is obliged to aim, in-

asmuch as the two guard portions 20 provide securely in position at themuzzle end of the rifle, a pair of spring members have their forwardends anchored as at 52 in any suitable manner, as for example, by spotwelding or the like, to the outer sides of the flanges 40 near theforward edge thereof. These spring members :50 occupy a horizontalposition and project rearwardly along the sides of the flanges 40 andare provided at their free ends with latch members 5B which are designedto snap over the rear edge of the block portion l8 of the rifle sight [6when the rear face of the flange 36 is brought into abuttingrelationship with the front surface of the block portion l8. The latchmembers 56 are provided with tongue 58 by means of which they maymanually be spread apart to release the attachment for removal purposes.

If desired, the rear edges of the side sections of the table portion 34may be turned downwardly, as indicated in dotted lines at 60, to providea vertical surface on which various indicia 62, also shown in dottedlines, as for example, the numerals 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, corresponding tothe various right and left hand sighting elements, may be applied tothis surface 60 beneath the respective sights to which they pertain toserve as a further aid to the rifleman in making proper selection of thesighting elements for aiming purposes.

The invention is not to be limited to the exact arrangement of partsshown in the accompanying drawing or described in this specification asvarious changes in the details of construction may be desorted towithout departing from the spirit of the invention. Only insofar as theinvention has been particularly pointed out in the accompanying claim isthe same to be limited.

What is claimed is:

A front sighting attachment for firearms comprising a metal memberhaving a horizontal table portion, a plurality of sighting elementsprojecting upwardly from said table portion at transversely spacedpoints therealong, said sighting elements being in the form ofrelatively flat upstanding flanges, said flanges being arranged withtheir longitudinal axes converging toward each other in one directionand intersecting substantially at the location of the rear sight of agun upon which the sighting attachment is mounted.

WILLIAM A, BAILEY. CHARLES E. WHITEMAN.

